


One Last Rumor

by Ysavvryl



Category: Persona 2
Genre: A Small Fix-It, Family Fluff, Gen, Post Eternal Punishment, Rumors, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 16:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysavvryl/pseuds/Ysavvryl
Summary: Just brothers talking about rumors, love, and cats on a beautiful day.





	One Last Rumor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fortune_Maiden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fortune_Maiden/gifts).

“Wai-wait, spare me please!” the nekomata ducked her head behind her hands. “If you do, I’ll spread an outrageous rumor for you!”

“Just a rumor?” Tatsuya asked. It had better be a good rumor he thought. He’d gotten jumped by this nekomata, who seemed very out of place in this path to Nyarlathotep. But she was enough to separate him from the rest of the group; they were dealing with some tougher demons ahead.

She nodded but kept her hands up defensively. “Yeah, I’m the greatest rumormonger of all! I can spread any kind of rumor real fast! Any kind, just tell me what you’ve got in mind.”

“That wouldn’t be difficult in the state the city’s in now,” he said. Meanwhile, some coherent thoughts emerged in a different tone. Himself from This Side? He might not have a strong sense of purpose, unlike himself. But if this side’s version could think of something despite being quiet so far, it might be worthwhile to listen as an apology for taking him over.

“Well you can’t easily leave right now, when I can,” she said.

“And you’d have to be very fast about it because we’re going to destroy the reason why rumors become real,” he added.

“I know, I know,” the nekomata said, her tail twitching. “But I can still do it! Please, just tell me what you want known and spare me.”

Meanwhile, Tatsuya’s other self got focused enough to give his own thoughts. ‘Remember what that Shadow Katsuya was saying. And the memories from him we saw. His life sucks too; I didn’t realize it before, or how hard he must have been working for me. But this nekomata might be able to help us do something good for him if she’s as good as she claims. It couldn’t hurt to try.’

Tatsuya examined the potential rumor himself. ‘That is outrageous.’

‘Any more outrageous than anything else going on? Like making up ancestors to call on them as Personas or awakening dragons through an undersea ruin to destroy the world.’

He nodded. “All right, nekomata, I’ll let you go with one last rumor,” Tatsuya said, then told her what it was.

Her ears twitched and she lowered her hands. “Ah… gotcha! That should be a cinch for me, and I love it! Okay, here I gooooo!” She fled, soon disappearing into the shadows.

“If this works, Katsuya should be happy,” Tatsuya said quietly to himself. Then he turned to rejoin the others before they noticed he’d been slowed down.

* * *

It was a gorgeous day when he left the police station, maybe the last warm day of the year. Katsuya took a deep breath, finally feeling like he didn’t need to rush to get things done. He did have plans later today, and there were things to get done back home too. Then again, maybe he did need to take a bit more time for himself. There might even be time for that now as things felt saner around the police station. Even Tatsuya was getting his act together.

Then his cellphone went off. Had he forgotten something back in the station? Hoping it wasn’t that, he checked and saw it was a familiar number. “Hi, what is it?”

“Hey,” Tatsuya said. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I was wondering, do you have some time today? Just to talk.”

“Sure, I was just getting out of the station,” he said, unlocking his car.

“Really, on time?” he asked, sounding amused.

“It’s a small miracle, huh?” Katsuya said, smiling at the joke. “I’ll be back home soon then.”

“Actually, could you meet me out by the park nearby? It’s not too bad outside.”

“Sure, I’ll be there in a bit.”

It took a few minutes to get back, and he parked at home to save some time. There were many people out and about, enjoying the fine autumn weather. While they were gossiping as usual, there was no longer worry about what sort of nonsense would come about because of rumors. It was back to ordinary life; people could relax now. Of course, he still had to sort out the JOKER case. Those who’d become Jokers had to be examined for mental health and if they could be held accountable for their actions. But, Katsuya was willing to give most survivors the benefit of doubt. It was a madness of sorts, a sickness which caused them to not be in their right minds.

Tatsuya was already sitting on a bench at the park; he actually had a book with him and was reading it closely. It looked strange as he used to not care about reading or school. Katsuya could remember a lot of stressful nights trying to talk with him about reports of misbehavior or truancy from his teachers, and that was before Tatsuya remembered things about the Other Side. But just a few days ago, he’d expressed an interest in becoming a police detective too. Although, Katsuya hoped he didn’t make the same mistakes and end up too serious.

Sitting down by him before he noticed, Katsuya said, “Hard at work with your studies, huh?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, setting the book down. “It’s a pain; there’s a lot I need to catch up on. But I need to do this.”

“I could help you out with it if you need it,” he offered.

Tatsuya shrugged at that, looking down at the ground. “Maybe. But… you were going out with Maya tonight, huh?”

“It’s not a date, we’re just meeting up for coffee,” Katsuya said. This was something he’d been thinking over since she’d asked him the other day. It should be a good thing. But like many other things, Nyarlathotep had ruined it by revealing that Tatsuya also had strong feelings for her. He didn’t want to betray his brother, but he still hoped that his friendship with Maya could become something more. “She’s a reporter for a teen magazine, sure, but she’s still a good one, and a great investigator. It’d be helpful for us to keep in contact with each other.”

Oddly enough, Tatsuya smiled at that. “Don’t worry, it’s okay. I decided, I’d like to be her friend. And I want you to be happy too, so go out with her if you want. I’ll be all right.”

Maybe not entirely all right, Katsuya thought; it was a smile, but a bittersweet one. At the same time, it was a relief to have his approval. Katsuya patted his back. “Thanks, Tatsuya. Though what really matters is what she wants, so we’ll see what happens. And I don’t think you should have a problem finding a girl you’re happy with; I heard talk about how all kinds of girls got attracted to you.”

“It’s the same way with you,” Tatsuya said, teasing him, “and you don’t even notice.”

“I don’t think so,” he said, feeling embarrassed now. At least it made his brother chuckle. “Though you seem happy enough already. Still, good luck, and let me know if I can help out in any way.”

“Sure, thanks Katsuya,” he said, although that made him look back at the ground and seem serious again. “Um, actually, there is someone else… though I don’t want you to think I’m weird…”

“It’s fine, who are you thinking about?” Katsuya asked, although he worried briefly over what Tatsuya might be worried about.

Tatsuya rubbed his neck, then brought a lighter out from somewhere and fiddled with it. “Well it has to do with the Other Side… I don’t exactly remember things from there now. But the other me, he was in a lot of pain and I got left with impressions of things that mattered to him. Like, there’s this girl at school who was crazy about me on the Other Side and she kept trying to drag me into being her boyfriend. But here, she is more subdued, to the point where I hardly knew her before things happened. All the differences were because Nyarlathotep was making life hell for those he wanted to toy with, including us on both sides.”

“We put a stop to him,” he said, hoping that could reassure him. Perhaps, it could help to agree on some things. “It does get disturbing to think about too much. Facing him was a nightmare since he could attack from within and without. Actually, nearly everything around him was disturbing. We were lucky to have the protection of our Personas.”

“He’s no longer messing with us, I’m sure of that,” Tatsuya said, now trying to reassure him. “Actually, the person he messed with the most aside from me was Jun; his life has been totally different on this side. Jun was probably kept last as a hostage because Nyarlathotep used him so much as a tool. But also, he would have been kept to last because the other me felt strongest for him out of the three. Really strongly at that.”

Jun, then? That could be a problem since relationships like that were frequently looked down on; it would affect his social life. Katsuya hadn’t had a strong opinion about it himself, just knowing there were people like that. But if that would make Tatsuya happy, he could accept it; he should probably look up how to handle this in a positive manner, to not hurt his brother. “I see.”

Tatsuya looked over at him. “It was odd to me since I never met him before that fire at the museum. I was going to ignore it since it was the other me, not me, but it was a very strong impression in my mind. After talking with my friends from the Other Side, I ended up meeting up with him every day this week. Yesterday, Jun said that he really admired me and wasn’t sure why. I know he has a better life this time around, like how his parents are together, but I guess there was more that the other me left behind with me. Or maybe it just made things easier for me to accept, but anyhow, I told him how I felt too. It seemed right at the time,” then he smiled again, “I mean, he had such a pretty smile when I did. I just wasn’t sure how you’d take it, or other people.”

“I think it’s fine,” Katsuya said, recalling how Jun had been at the beach and later at the shrine. He had some instances of déjà vu himself, but nothing like what it’d be like for someone who had been in love on one side of history but not the other.

“Merrrow?”

They both looked down at the sudden interruption in their conversation. A gray and black striped kitten had somehow come up to his side without them realizing it, its scruffy fur sticking out at all angles. Was it on its own? It seemed small and dirty, but friendly enough to approach them. Katsuya felt sorry for the little kitten, but they’d both be much better off with somebody else to look after it. From the way it was looking up at him, it might try to jump on the bench.

“Oh, hello there,” Katsuya said, offering a hand down to it so it could sniff his fingers. “We don’t have any snacks for you, but you could join us if you don’t mind the serious conversation.” It’d be trouble for him since he’d end up sneezing and itchy the rest of the day. But he couldn’t resist. After a wiggle of its haunches, the kitten jumped up and put a paw in his lap.

Tatsuya chuckled at it. “It must know that you like cats.”

“I don’t know how they tell,” he said, rubbing the cat’s chin and getting it to purr. “But about you and Jun, I don’t have a problem with you two going out. Although I don’t know much about him, the few times we did run into him, he seemed like a good kid.”

“Thanks, that helps,” he said, then reached over to poke the kitten in the nose.

“Mya,” the kitten said, looking over at him expectantly.

“Mya,” Tatsuya meowed right back at it before letting it rub its face over his hand. “It’s a pity; he seems to be alone.”

“Right, I’m sure he’d be adorable with some good care,” Katsuya said. This was good; a cute cat could melt away his stress for a bit. But only a bit, unfortunately.

Then Tatsuya looked to him. “Hey, you’re not sneezing this time.”

“Hmm?” He put a hand to his nose and realized that he was right. His nose didn’t feel itchy, and neither did his eyes nor the hand he’d been petting the kitten with. “You’re right, I feel fine so far. Are you some little miracle, kitten?”

“Murrr,” the kitten replied, looking up to him too. It seemed like the kitten was even smiling.

“Actually, I called you to talk about this kitten,” Tatsuya said. “He’s been around my school for a few days at least. I asked around, but he doesn’t seem to belong to anybody. So I bought a bit of cat food and fed him a few times, then brought him over here to talk with you about him. He must have wandered off while I was reading; I’m glad he came back.”

“You wanted to adopt him?” Katsuya almost agreed to it right away. Having a cat at home would be great, although there were many things they had to prepare to take a pet in. “It’d be nice, but it might just be the weather. I’m not sure how I’d be living with a cat.”

“You should be all right if you’re fine now,” he said, oddly confidant in this kitten. “It’s because of the last rumor I got spread. It was after you had to face your Shadow self; I got a little separated from the group and met this nekomata who claimed that she could spread any outrageous rumor. It was my idea, not my other self’s. We told her to spread the idea that in Wang Long, there is a curse that could make a person allergic to their favorite animal, and that was why you were allergic to cats. But ever since we destroyed Joka, that kind of curse has been revoked.”

“Then I’m no longer allergic to cats because of this rumor?” he asked as the kitten rubbed his head against his hand some more. He rubbed the kitten’s chin again since he seemed to like it.

Tatsuya nodded. “Looks like that nekomata was able to pull it off. I wasn’t sure since you hadn’t mentioned meeting up with any cats since then, but I was looking into adopting one if the rumor did work. In meeting your Shadow, I realized that you have given up a lot to take care of our family. I feel bad about that now since I didn’t consider how you must feel before. I’m sorry, but, I hope this makes up for it a little.”

“Oh my god, I can pet any cat I want now?” Katsuya asked, feeling like a kid again. It had always felt depressing that he couldn’t keep a cat of his own, and then embarrassing since he felt like that.

Tatsuya laughed and relaxed; he seemed a lot happier than he had in a long time. “Certainly, but let’s not get crazy about it. One cat for now.”

Katsuya chuckled at himself; this was turning out to be a wonderful day. “All right, just one for now. You didn’t have to go that far for me, Tatsuya. But I’m really happy that you did. That rumors becoming reality was a headache to deal with, and cruel too since people could change the lives of others just by gossiping about it. It seems like it can be a blessing too.”

“It must have been one of the last rumors made real, maybe even the last,” Tatsuya said. “I don’t think it could have caused much trouble.”

Without warning, someone else in the park shouted, “Oh my god, you mean I can take care of the elephants again?!”

Glancing over, they saw that person talking with some others, who cheerfully were encouraging their friend to try again. He and Tatsuya ended up laughing some more over that. “Well maybe it changed a few others,” Tatsuya said.

“At least that wrong has been righted,” Katsuya said.

“Myaaa!” the kitten chimed in.

“Well if we’re going to take you home, little cutie, we need to get some things for you,” Katsuya said, smiling affectionately at their new pet. “He’s more used to you, so would you keep an eye on him? I’ll go out to the store and see about getting a litter box, a brush, and a few other things.”

Tatsuya nodded. “Okay. Oh, I haven’t given him a name yet since I wanted to let you decide.”

“Sure, I’ll think up something good,” Katsuya said, then handed the kitten over to his brother. “Well then, I’ll see you both in a bit.”

He ended up late to his meeting with Maya as a result, but she was very happy for them once she heard about why.

And everything seemed a little brighter with that misfortune corrected.


End file.
